Biggin Abbey Bishops Palace

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Ditton; The Biggin

In the civil parish of Fen Ditton. In the historic county of Cambridgeshire (Modern Authority of Cambridgeshire, 1974 county of Cambridgeshire).

The summer residence of the bishops of Ely, later known as Biggin Abbey though never occupied by monks, stood on a formerly moated site in the north-west extension of the parish, opposite Bait's lock on the river Cam. During C13 and early C14 it provided successive bishops of Ely with a residence close to Cambridge. In 1276 Bishop Balsham was granted permission to enclose and crenellate the residence. Between the 1220s and 1320s kings passing through Fen Ditton on their way to Ely and East Anglia may sometimes have stayed at the bishop's mansion, as Henry III probably did in 1238, when he spent three days at Fen Ditton. Edward II was there for three weeks late in 1315. Bishops of Ely continued to visit Fen Ditton at times in the mid and late C14. The house, which was rebuilt in the late C14, consisted of a residential range of two storeys, and an additional building on the south side, possibly containing butteries. In 1478 Biggin was occupied by the bishop of Ely's physician. The Abbey was remodelled in C17 to include an internal chimney stack and a winding stone staircase. In 1768 the stonework was 'much going to decay'. In the late C20 clunch and freestone walls were rendered with cement. An adjacent C17 house of one storey with an attic had red brick walls and a gabled roof. (VCH, 2002)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TL48736171

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 371934
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 01095 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

• Books
  • Wareham, Andrew (ed), 2002, VCH Cambridge and the Isle of Ely Vol10 p123-4 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=18815
    Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p154
    Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p167, 176
    RCHME, 1972, An inventory of historical monuments in the County of Cambridgeshire. Vol2: north-east Cambridgeshire p58
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p403
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Rolls (1272-81) p140
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc. (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Payne, Naomi, 2003, The medieval residences of the bishops of Bath and Wells, and Salisbury (PhD Thesis University of Bristol) Appendix B: List of Medieval Bishop's Palaces in England and Wales [available via http://ethos.bl.uk ]